Kansas Administrative Regulations
Agency 115 - KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, PARKS AND TOURISM
Article 7 - FISH AND FROGS
Section 115-7-1 - Fishing; legal equipment, methods of taking, and other provisions
Universal Citation: KS Admin Regs 115-7-1
Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 39, September 26, 2024
(a) Legal equipment and methods for taking sport fish shall be the following:
(1) Fishing lines with not more than two
baited hooks or artificial lures per line. If two artificial lures are used,
the fishing line shall not exceed six hooks;
(2) trotlines, except that all float material
used with a trotline shall be constructed only from plastic, wood, or foam and
shall be a closed-cell construction. A "closedcell" construction shall mean a
solid body incapable of containing water;
(3) setlines, except that any float material
used with a setline shall be constructed only from plastic, wood, or foam and
shall be a closed-cell construction. A "closedcell" construction shall mean a
solid body incapable of containing water;
(4) tip-ups;
(5) using a person's hand or hands for
flathead catfish in waters designated as open to hand fishing, subject to the
following requirements:
(A) An individual hand
fishing shall not use hooks, snorkeling or scuba gear, or other man-made
devices while engaged in hand fishing;
(B) an individual hand fishing shall not
possess fishing equipment, other than a stringer, while engaged in hand fishing
and while on designated waters or adjacent banks;
(C) stringers shall not be used as an aid for
hand fishing and shall not be used until the fish is in possession at or above
the surface of the water;
(D) each
individual hand fishing shall take fish only from natural objects or natural
cavities;
(E) an individual hand
fishing shall not take fish from any man-made object, unless the object is a
bridge, dock, boat ramp, or riprap, or other similar structure or
feature;
(F) no part of any object
shall be disturbed or altered to facilitate the harvest of fish for hand
fishing; and
(G) an individual hand
fishing shall not take fish within 150 yards of any dam;
(6) snagging for paddlefish in waters posted
or designated by the department as open to the snagging of paddlefish, subject
to the following requirements:
(A) Each
individual with a filled creel limit shall cease all snagging activity in the
paddlefish snagging area until the next calendar day;
(B) each individual taking paddlefish to be
included in the creel and possession limit during the snagging season shall
sign the carcass tag, record the county, the date, and the time of harvest on
the carcass tag, and attach the carcass tag to the lower jaw of the carcass
immediately following the harvest and before moving the carcass from the site
of the harvest; and
(C) each
individual snagging for paddlefish shall use barbless hooks while snagging for
paddlefish. "Barbless hook" shall mean a hook without barbs or upon which the
barbs have been bent completely closed;
(7) floatlines in waters posted or designated
by the department as open to floatline fishing, which shall be subject to the
following requirements:
(A) All floatlines
shall be under the immediate supervision of the angler setting the floats.
"Immediate supervision" shall mean that the angler has visual contact with the
floatlines set while the angler is on the water body where the floatlines are
located;
(B) all floatlines shall
be removed when float fishing ceases;
(C) floatlines shall not contain more than
one line per float, with not more than two baited hooks per line;
(D) all float material shall be constructed
only from plastic, wood, or foam and shall be a closed-cell construction. A
"closed-cell" construction shall mean a solid body incapable of containing
water;
(8) bow and arrow
with a barbed head and a line attached from bow to arrow; and
(9) crossbow and arrow with a barbed head and
a line attached from arrow to crossbow.
(b)Legal equipment and methods for taking nonsport fish shall be the following:
(1)
Fishing lines with not more than two baited hooks or artificial lures per
line;
(2) trotlines;
(3) setlines;
(4) tip-ups;
(5) bow and arrow with a barbed head and a
line attached from bow to arrow;
(6) crossbow and arrow with a barbed head and
a line attached from arrow to crossbow;
(7) spear gun, without explosive charge,
while skin or scuba diving. The spear, without explosive charge, shall be
attached to the speargun or person by a line;
(8) gigging;
(9) snagging in waters posted by the
department as open to snagging; and
(10) floatlines in waters posted or
designated by the department as open to floatline fishing, which shall be
subject to the requirements specified in paragraphs (a)(7) (A) through
(D).
(c) Dip nets and gaffs may be used to land any legally caught or hooked fish.
(d) Fish may be taken by any method designated by the secretary when a fish salvage order has been issued by the secretary through public notice or posting the area open to fish salvage.
(e) Fish may be taken with the aid of boats, depth finders, artificial lights, sound attracters, and scents.
(f) Fish may be taken by legal means from vehicles.
(g) The following additional requirements shall apply in the flowing portions and backwaters of the Missouri river and in any oxbow lake through which the Kansas-Missouri boundary passes:
(1) Each
individual shall place all legally caught fish on a stringer, cord, cable, or
chain, or in a basket, sack, cage, or other holding device, separate from those
fish caught by any other individual.
(2) The equipment and methods specified in
para-graphs(b)(5) and (b)(6) shall be legal only from sunrise to
midnight.
(3) The equipment and
method specified in paragraphs (b)(9) and (b)(10) shall be legal only from
sunrise to sunset.
(h) The equipment and method specified in paragraphs (a)(8) and (a)(9) shall be legal, except on rivers and streams, only for the following species of sport fish where no size limit exists for any of these species of fish:
(1) Blue catfish;
(2) channel catfish; and
(3) flathead catfish.
(i) Optical scopes or sights that project no visible light toward the target and do not electronically amplify visible or infrared light shall be valid for use on bows and crossbows.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Kansas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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